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Category: Inspiration

14 ways to upgrade your environment

Your external world impacts your inner world.

When you’re surrounded by beautiful things, you show up in a more inspired way. Too often we fail to pay real attention to what is around us.

Get intentional about the world in which you live. To encourage you to begin, here are 14 ways to upgrade the environment around you:

  1. Do a bookshelf sweep. If your book collection doesn’t motivate you, revamp it.
  2. Switch up your playlist. Peppy jazz or fresh instrumentals can add unexpected spice to morning rituals.
  3. Place freshly cut flowers in your kitchen, entryways, and on top of your bedstand.
  4. Start your day listening to a podcast that encourages you to think about the world a little differently.
  5. What movies are you watching? Fill your mind with better stories.
  6. What magazines and newspapers arrive to your home? Are they uplifting?
  7. Colors. Sometimes a fresh coat of paint can do wonders. Forget the latest trends and choose colors that make you happy.
  8. Upgrade. Invest in a new throw rug or blanket for the couch.
  9. Scents. Place an essential oil diffuser in your living areas and home office. Lemon, lavender, peppermint, and rosemary can boost mood and productivity.
  10. Who are you following online? Unfollow channels or feeds that aren’t adding positive sparks to your day.
  11. Hang art. Check out Minted and 20×200.
  12. Open a window. Invite light and fresh air into your space.
  13. Add green. Succulents and bamboo stalks are hardy plants that don’t require too much attention.
  14. What conversations are you having? Consider whether the topics you speak of are distracting or constructive.

Tweet me your ideas @redheadlefthand.

Surprise and delight

Seth Godin first plopped these two words into my mind many years ago. Since then, this has become something of a personal mantra: How can I bring more joy into the world? How can I surprise the people around me?

It’s not enough to simply show up.

It’s about pushing boundaries, testing assumptions, and bringing intentional kindness into the communities in which you live.

Tweet me and let me know how you’re adding surprise and delight into your life.

Leading isn’t a grandiose gesture

The smallest actions can have the greatest impact. Lead by example may sound trite, but it’s true.

Trying to encourage others to follow a set path? The way you act and exist in the world either endears others to you or creates boundaries between who you say you are and the goals you hope to achieve.

The small, daily actions are the most difficult. Yet these “little things” can also be the most rewarding:

A pause before a response.

Treating others with respect.

Making breakfast for a loved one.

Creating platforms for others to succeed.

This is how you show leadership. Day in and day out, through actions and words.